Pulwama attack: 'Madadgaar' to any Kashmiri in distress, says CRPF

A Srinagar-based CRPF helpline on Saturday asked people of Jammu and Kashmir to approach it in case they face any harassment. This came after reports of threats issued to Kashmiris based out of Kashmir following the Pulwama terror attack. The 'Madadgaar' helpline posted a tweet asking general public who are presently out of the state to contact it over the Twitter handle '@CRPFmadadgaar'. They can call on 24x7 toll free number 14411 or send an SMS at mobile no: 7082814411 "for speedy assistance in case they face any difficulties or harassment".

The CRPF, that is deployed for security duties in Jammu and Kashmir, had launched this 24-hour helpline Madadgaar (14411) in June 2017 to help any Valley resident who is in distress.

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 At least 42 CRPF personnel were killed on Thursday in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 80 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district that also left many critically wounded.  More than 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Latoomode in Awantipora in south Kashmir. 

A senior official said the “Force will undertake immediate steps in case the helpline receives a distress call by a Kashmir-based person and will alert and depute the officials from its nearest located base to address the issue,” PTI quoted a senior official as saying.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is the country's largest paramilitary force with over three lakh personnel in its ranks and it has its formations and battalions in maximum states of the country, he said.

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"While we have lost our comrades, it is our pledge to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially to those living in the Kashmir Valley, that we are with them always," he said.

The Centre on Saturday also asked all states to ensure safety and security of the students and people from Jammu and Kashmir living in their areas.